Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

31. Babysitting

September 1999

Fleur had been subtly complaining for a few weeks that she and Bill hadn't been able to truly celebrate their anniversary this year. While Eloise did cook them a nice homemade dinner to celebrate and even watched over Victoire for the night, she knew that Fleur was growing a bit stir-crazy being stuck at home all the time.

That's why Eloise had taken it upon herself to make the couple a reservation for the weekend at Fleur's favorite hotel in Paris. Although it was a month past their anniversary now, the couple were still grateful to Eloise as having a baby often meant they would put their own wishes on the back burner. But while Fleur was initially thrilled, the more she thought about leaving her baby for two full days, the more anxious she grew.

Everything had gone according to plan. Their bags had already been packed, Victoire was happily babbling Eloise's arms, and the couple were just about to step into the fireplace when Fleur stopped in her tracks and spun around to face her friend.

"You'll send a patronus if anything goes wrong, won't you? Bill taught you how to do that, yes?"

"Yes, Fleur."

"And you have the address of the hotel?"

"I'm the one who made the reservation, remember?"

"Darling, she'll be fine. You need a break." Bill reminded his wife calmly as he rested his hand on her shoulder.

Fleur nodded and grabbed her suitcase before walking into the fireplace. But before Bill could utter the name of the hotel, Fleur stepped out once more.

"Her favorite blanket that Molly knit is laid over the back of the rocking chair in her room. You'll need to give her a bath tomorrow and she'll probably scream her head off, but once she's wrapped in that blanket she'll be okay."

"Fleur, we'll be fine, now go." Eloise smiled.

Fleur nodded and finally returned to her husband's side once more. Bill wrapped his arm around her waist and Eloise couldn't quite tell if he was doing it to prevent her from running out again, or if he was doing it to comfort her. Knowing Bill, it was probably a bit of both. Eloise gently grasped Victoire's wrist and made her give her parents a little wave as they finally departed in a flash of green flames.

"Now it's time to party!" Eloise smiled down at the baby, giving her a tickle causing her to let out a giggle.

While Eloise was quite confident she could easily take care of Victoire for the weekend, she couldn't deny it was slightly nerve wracking being her first time watching over the infant alone. But overall the entire day had been going quite smoothly, at least until dinner time rolled around.

Juggling cooking while also feeding Victoire at the same time was proving to be quite difficult for Eloise. The minute she set Victoire in her highchair and turned her back to watch the stove, the infant would start wailing until she was held again. But after a moment of consoling her, the meal she had been cooking started to burn. It was a vicious cycle of back and forth that was only broken when a faint green flash could be seen coming from the living room.

At first when she glanced over and caught a glimpse of red hair, she assumed it was just Bill returning home to get something they had forgotten.

"Hey! I promise everything is fine." she called over her shoulder, thinking she was reassuring the baby's father.

"Are you sure about that?" a voice that was definitely not Bill asked.

Eloise immediately did a double take and saw George standing in the doorway to the kitchen.